Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The bulletproof car slowly drove away from the old street.

Zhao Tiezhu turned the steering wheel. He turned the car around and drove onto the national highway leading to the northern suburbs.

The road surface gradually became bumpy and uneven. The wheels rolled over the gravel, and the chassis made a dull thud.

The view outside the window changed from low-rise shops to vast stretches of wasteland and blue corrugated iron fences.

Zhao Tiezhu slowed down the car.

"Chief, the third phase of the northern suburbs construction project is just ahead." He slammed on the brakes. "The road is too bad. The armored vehicle has a low chassis and can't get in."

Lu Jingyan opened the car door.

Black leather shoes stepped onto the soft, yellow earth. A layer of gray dust immediately settled on the surface of the shoes.

He had one hand in his trouser pocket and strode forward, facing the sand swirling in the wind.

Dust filled the air at the construction site, and machines roared.

Several heavy tower cranes slowly rotated in mid-air. The green protective netting rustled loudly in the wind.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of cement, mixed with the acrid smoke from burning diesel.

A shirtless, muscular man was pushing a small cart full of cement at breakneck speed.

The man's back was covered with old scars, crisscrossed with various lines.

Now these scars are covered with grayish-white mud. Sweat streams down his spine, leaving clear muddy grooves.

His work boots were so worn that their original color was no longer visible. The toes were worn through, revealing his toes covered in mud.

"Make way! Hey buddy, move your leg, cement's coming!"

The man roared at the top of his lungs. His voice was rough and hoarse, with a hint of parched, tearing pain.

He gripped the iron handles of the cart tightly with both hands. The veins on the back of his hands bulged, and even his fingernails were filled with black dirt.

The tire ran over a rotten wooden plank, and the cart suddenly tilted to one side.

He gritted his teeth, his cheeks puffed out. With a sudden burst of strength in his waist muscles, he managed to steady the cart, which weighed several hundred pounds.

Zhao Tiezhu followed behind Lu Jingyan.

He stared wide-eyed at the figure sweating profusely. He gasped, taking a deep breath of cool air mixed with sand.

"Mother..." Zhao Tiezhu touched his bald head, his voice extremely low.

"Director, isn't that the Asura Dragon King? The one who was said to have commanded 100,000 retired soldiers to rush to Jinghai with a single order?"

Zhao Tiezhu still remembers the scene of catching that kid back then.

He always wears a black trench coat and has a stern face. He's always cracking a cold laugh and saying things like, "It's getting cold, let the Wang Group go bankrupt."

The "Asura Dragon King," who used to grin crookedly and threaten to have 100,000 soldiers wipe out entire families, is now sweating profusely for a daily wage of 300 yuan.

That habitually crooked mouth was wide open at that moment, panting heavily like a fish out of oxygen.

The cart came to a steady stop beside the mixing tank.

The man gripped the handles with both hands and lifted the cartload of mortar. A splash of mud flew up.

After finishing this trip, he straightened his aching lower back.

She pulled off the dirty towel draped around her neck and wiped her face haphazardly. Only then did she notice Lu Jingyan standing a few meters away.

He was taken aback for a moment.

The action of wiping sweat from his hands froze in mid-air.

Those once fierce, alluring eyes now only retain a simple honesty, hardened by the harsh realities of life.

He didn't shout anything like "Dragon King Palace troops in formation".

Instead, he quickly stuffed the towel into his pocket. His two large hands, covered in cement dust, frantically rubbed themselves against the muddy trouser legs.

"Commander Lu... Commander Lu."

The man jogged over, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He stopped two meters away. He didn't dare get too close, afraid that the dust on his body would soil the other person's clean casual clothes.

"What are you doing here? The construction site is messy, there are lots of metal scaffolding, I'm afraid you might get hit."

He spoke with a slight stutter. His tone carried a cautious, ingratiating air.

Zhao Tiezhu, with an unlit cigarette between his fingers, stepped forward and looked him up and down.

"Hey, isn't this the Dragon King?" Zhao Tiezhu chuckled, a wide grin spreading across his face. "What's up? Where are your 100,000 soldiers? Didn't they come to help you move bricks?"

The old man blushed.

Her chapped lips trembled slightly. She awkwardly scratched her messy hair, dandruff and sand falling from her scalp.

"Officer, please, please stop teasing me."

He chuckled twice, a few deep wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes, etched by the wind and sand.

"I was out of my mind before, I was having a fit of teenage angst. I thought that knowing a little bit of kung fu would make me invincible."

He pointed to his nose.

"My name is Ye Xiu now. I'm a bricklayer. I make a living with my strength."

Lu Jingyan looked at him quietly.

His dark eyes were crystal clear in the blinding sunlight. There was no oppressive scrutiny in them; he looked at him like he was looking at an ordinary construction worker.

"How much do you earn in a day?" Lu Jingyan asked casually.

"Three hundred yuan!"

Ye Xiu held up three thick fingers. His voice suddenly rose a little, and his tone was surprisingly proud.

"If it happens to be pouring concrete, you can get an extra fifty dollars in subsidies. Two meals are included."

He swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Add a big chicken leg for lunch, and you'll be full. That boxed lunch is packed with oil."

Ye Xiu patted his firm belly, making a dull thud.

"Don't laugh at me. Back in the Dragon King's Palace, I ate Michelin-starred, top-quality air-freighted seafood, Wagyu beef, and abalone every day."

He frowned, and his face twitched.

"Actually, the food made me feel nauseous. I also had to be on guard every day to see if anyone had put drugs in my food, and I had to sleep with one eye open."

Ye Xiu spread out his hands, which were covered with blisters and calluses.

He discovered that the boxed lunches he earned with his own hands tasted better than any top-tier banquet in the Dragon King's Palace.

"Now, I earn my own lunchbox by carrying thousands of bricks a day with my own two hands. It tastes so damn good. I can fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow at night."

A burst of machine noise drowned out his words.

The foreman in the distance was holding a megaphone and yelling at him to unload the steel bars.

"Hey! Coming right now!"

Ye Xiu responded loudly. He turned to look at Lu Jingyan and suddenly slapped his thigh.

"Sir, please wait a moment. Just one minute!"

He took off running towards the tin tool shed where he worked.

A short while later, he came running back, panting heavily.

He now held a red hardcover notebook in his hand.

There was a bit of white dust on the plastic cover. He wiped it vigorously with his sleeve twice before carefully holding it in both hands and handing it to Lu Jingyan.

His rough fingers were still trembling slightly.

Upon seeing Lu Jingyan's inspection, the Dragon King scratched his head sheepishly and proudly displayed his "Model Worker" certificate for the month.

"Sir, look."

Ye Xiu grinned, his smile as bright as a primary school student who had just gotten a perfect score on a test and was now showing off. His teeth stood out starkly against his dark complexion.

"This was the award I received last month for our section's evaluation. I even got an extra 500 yuan in bonus. I sent it all back to my hometown to help my mom fix the roof."

Lu Jingyan looked down.

The notebook was all crumpled.

On the opened inner page, there was a line of text written in black marker.

"Comrade Ye Xiu is hardworking and diligent, and has performed outstandingly. This certificate is hereby issued as encouragement."

This thing isn't even worth ten yuan on the market.

But in the hands of this former underworld overlord, it was regarded as a priceless treasure more precious than life itself.

Lu Jingyan did not take the notebook.

He looked into Ye Xiu's gleaming eyes. There was no longer any greed for power, no longer any disregard for life.

All I can do is look forward to tomorrow's boxed lunch with an extra chicken leg.

"Keep it safe."

Lu Jingyan withdrew his gaze. His voice was steady and gentle.

"Don't make it dirty."

Ye Xiu nodded vigorously. He carefully tucked the notebook back into his coat pocket, placing it close to his chest through his tattered vest.

"I'm off to work, sir! I need to earn money to buy meat!"

He turned around and strode towards the heavy pile of steel bars. His figure looked particularly sturdy against the swirling yellow sand.

Zhao Tiezhu scoffed, crumpled the unlit cigarette in his hand, and threw it into the trash can.

"This kid... he actually looks like a decent human being now."

Lu Jingyan turned around and walked towards the bulletproof car parked in the distance.

The cool autumn breeze dispersed some of the dust from the construction site. It felt a bit rough on my face.

Watching these former outliers completely integrate into ordinary life, Lu Jingyan finally smiled with genuine relief.